Mop with ball and socket connection between handle and holder



Oct. 7, 1958 H. L. WARDEN 2,854,683

MOP WITH BALL. AND SOCKET CONNECTION BETWEEN HANDLE AND HOLDER Filed June 25, 1956 INVEN 0R. HAEEY L. WARDEN BY a g A TTaR/YE Y- United States Patent MOP WITH BALL AND SOCKET CONNECTION BETWEEN HANDLE AND HOLDER Harry L. Warden, Los Angeles, Calif. Application June 25, 1956, Serial No. 593,515

1 Claim. (Cl. 15-144) This invention relates to a mop having an articulated connection between the handle and mop head thereof. The mop handle may be adjusted relative to the mop head in any of a number of positions wherein the mop may be utilized for cleaning purposes in locations which might otherwise be inaccessible.

One object of this invention is to provide a mop having an articulate connection between .the handle and mop head which will permit substantially universal adjustment of the handle relative to the head.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mop in which the base is composed of two identical halves, making manufacture inexpensive.

A further object of this invention is to provide a mop with a base, composed of two identical halves, with two bolts angled through it so as to permit any desired tension between the handle and base from free to fully locked condition in any selected position.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mop which can be assembled as a unit.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the ensuing specification and appended drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of the mop with the extreme positions of the handle shown in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the mop base;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the same shown partially in section, and showing the top of the-mop in dotted lines;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the mop comprises generally a mop head A, a handle B, and a base C consisting of two identical members incorporating an articulated connection for securing the handle to the mop head. The mop head is comprised of upper and lower clamping jaws 3 and 4, each of which may be in channel form including web portions 5 and 6 with outwardly and downwardly flaring side flanges 7, 8, 9 and 10, which are inclined at an angle of approximately 45 with reference to the plane of the web portions 5 and 6. These clamping jaws may be in the form of stampings made from rigid sheet material such as steel or aluminum.

A mop cloth 24 is interposed between the clamping jaws 1 and 2 and is provided with spaced apertures through which the clamping bolts 25 project.

A ferrule 11 is fixed to the lower end of the handle in a conventional manner and a shank 12 projects outwardly from the end of the handle. The inner end of the shank projects into a bore in the end of the handle so as to be firmly anchored relative to the handle. 7 spherical ball 13 is fixed to the end of the shank. That portion of the shank adjacent to the ball, and referred to generally by the numeral 14, is offset at an angle of 45 relative to the extended axis of the remaining portion of the shank which is referred to by the numeral 15, said axis being concentric with the longitudinal axis of the handle.

The joint connecting the handle to the mop head is ice an integral part of the baseC comprised of two identical members 16, 16. Each of these identical members comprises a body portion 16a having a semispherical depression 17 and a coaxial recess 18 formed in one end there of; and a flat ear 16b projecting laterally from the body section 16a having an underface constituting a continuation of the underface of said body section 16a, and having an aperture 9a for reception of a bolt 25, and for alignment with a respective aperture of the mop cloth 24.

When the members are placed together with the corresponding ends joined, a socket is produced by the two semispherical depressions 17, 17, in which the ball 13 is received and a slot is produced by the two coaxial recesses 18, 18, which is of slightly greater width than the shank 12 to provide free movement of the shank. The slot is deep enough (and thus of sufiicient circumferential extent) to permit the handle B to pivot forward and backward in relation to the mop head A.

A bolt 19 extends loosely through a bore in each of the base members 16, 16 at an angle of approximately 45 from the vertical as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. lower end of said bolt protrudes from the end of the section into a square socket 26 in the matching base members and is held by a square head 20. At the upper extremity of bolt 19 a wing nut 21 is threaded for the purpose of forcing the two base members together and thereby exerting frictional pressure upon the ball 13. By partially tightening the wing nuts a light predetermined frictional resistance can be exerted between the surface of the ball and the interior wall of the socket, so that by grasping the mop head in one hand and the handle in the other, the handle can be swung into any desired position of adjustment relative to the mop head. The wing nuts can be tightened further to securely lock the ball in the socket, and the mop head will remain in such position of adjustment during normal usage of mop for cleaning purposes. It is apparent that the mop handle can be rotated a full 360 about the axis of that portion of the shank adjacent to the ball. The handle can likewise be adjusted 180 relative to the mop head in an arcuate path throughout the length of the slot 18.

Viewing Fig. 1, it will be noted that when the mop head is resting on a horizontal surface and that portion of the shank 12 adjacent to the ball 13 projects in a vertical position, the handle of the mop will be in a position approximately 45 relative to the vertical or approximately the desired position of adjustment for normal use on a horizontal surface. By moving the handle down to the position shown in dotted lines anddesignated by the numeral 23, the mop head is placed in such a position relative to the handle to facilitate the cleaning of a ledge or shelf above the users reach. The handle can also be easily adjusted to the position shown in dotted lines and designated by the numeral 22 to clean a vertical surface, or by turning the mop over a narrow slot along the base of a wall or some similar situation, which would be otherwise rendered inaccessible by the nature of the handle projecting above the base of the mop, could be easily reached. The full 180 adjustment of the handle relative to the mop head in an arcuate path provides an infinite number of positions of adjustment which outmodes the process of having to twist the handle 180 relative to the mop head to achieve adjustment often needed.

By fixing the ball 13 on the end of the handle instead of on the mop head, there is less tendency of the mop head to roll relative to the handle during use thereof since the downward thrust on the handle is being transmitted to the ball and against the walls of the socket instead of vice-versa.

I claim:

In a mop, a handle base comprising two identical base The members, each of said members having at one end an apertured ear for attachment to a mop head and having at its other end a raised body section provided with an upright end face to mate With the corresponding end face of the other base member, each of said base members having an upper face sloping downwardly and'outwardly at approximately a 45 angle to its said end face, and each of said base members having a main bore extending downwardly and inwardly from a lateral area of said upper face to a lower area of said end face; said raised body sections being adjacent and opposed and each having in its said end face a semi-spherical depression and a recess extending approximately 180 degrees around said depression, said semi-spherical depressions cooperatively defining a socket and said recesses cooperatively defining a slot concentric with said socket; said main bores of the respective base members being disposed near the side extremities of said raised sections on respective sides of the axis of said socket normal to said end faces; each ofsaid raised body sections having a respective counterbore opening into the bottom thereof on an axis extending at a 45 angle to said bottom and aligned with the axis of the main bore of the other section and having a short bore communicating with the said aligned main bore of the other section through the lower area of the end face of the respective section; a

I handle having a shank extending therefrom at an angle of approximately to its longitudinal axis, and a ball integral with the end of said shank, said ball being received in said socket and said shank being received in said slot and adapted to swing therein around the center of said ball in a path disposed in the plane of said slot to accommodate adjustment of said handle through an angle of substantially with reference to the longitudinal axis of said base member; and means for exerting fric- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 320,436 Hock June 16, 1885 2,722,704 Warden Nov. 8, 1955 2,764,774 Belsky et al. Oct. 2, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 320,809 Italy Sept. 7, 1934 

